1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of animal waste disposal. More specifically, it relates to an attachment or accessory for a cat litter box. Even more specifically, it relates to an accessory that can be attached to the side of the litter enclosure. The accessory includes a tray and, supported above the bottom thereof, a generally concave mesh or grate with apertures large enough to let stray litter fall through into the plenum created by the mesh whereby the litter can be poured back into the litter box instead of being scattered about the home.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For cat owners, especially those whose pets are kept indoors most of the time, an indoor box has to be provided the animal for the elimination of wastes. These boxes are usually filled with an absorbent and/or deodorant material commonly known as cat litter. A persistent problem is that this cat litter from the box is often tracked about the dwelling or kicked out when the animal seeks to cover its waste products or just in its entrance and exits from the box. One of the solutions that has become common, mostly useful for the annoyance of the litter being kicked out of the box by the animal is to enclose the litter box with a cover, leaving only a single opening for access. This does not, however, completely solve the problem as the animal can still unwittingly kick litter out of the enclosure or carry it adhered to its paws.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,430 issued on Aug. 27, 1991 to Stephen Casmira discloses a litter collection apparatus and method that confronts this problem. The device has a hopper body having inclined walls attached to the sides of the litter box and is covered with a grate or screen sized to allow the passage of the litter material into the hopper. Unlike the present invention, though, the grate or screen disclosed is of a construction that can leave stray litter, especially litter that is adhering to the animal's paws, stuck to those paws, to be eventually loosened and deposited on a carpet, a bare floor, or furniture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,257 issued on Sep. 29, 1987 to John F. Neary et al. discloses a self drying litter box wherein a foraminous panel is supported above the bottom of the box. The panel supports the litter material and the space created below the panel facilitates drying of the material. Alternatively, a heating element can be added to speed the drying process. This invention as disclosed has a removable cover and a curtain to enclose both odor and litter, but there is still no feature that prevents litter adhering to the animal's feet from being eventually deposited about the home.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,111,932 issued on Nov. 26, 1963 to Gerald L. Knutson discloses a relief station for cats where a sand storage and dispensing compartment is part of a walled enclosure. There is a communicating hole between the compartment and the rest of the enclosure, enabling the animal to paw the sand as part of its instinctual covering motions both before and after elimination. As the cat exits the device, it crosses a treadle plate that activates a mechanism, emptying the waste into a receptacle. There is no means to keep the litter or sand thus dispensed from being tracked or kicked out of the enclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,561 issued on Aug. 22, 1989 to H. Thomas Springer discloses a pet litter enclosure that is both portable and collapsible. It has an internal framework and elasticized outer cover to control spreading of the litter and odors. As in Neary et al. mentioned above, there is no means disclosed to prevent the litter adhering to the animal's feet from being tracked about.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,048 issued on Jun. 14, 1977 to George Gershbein discloses an indoor-outdoor toilet for small animals. The device is designed to be both a carrying case and a litter box that can be placed in an existing window. The enclosure has openings to provide ventilation however there is nothing disclosed that would prevent the litter or other material from being kicked into the room from the unit or being tracked into the home after the toilet was used.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.